According to accreditation and professional bodies, evaluation and grading are a high priority in counselor education. Specifications grading, an evaluative tool, can be used to increase grading rigor. This article describes the components of specifications grading and applies the framework of specifications grading to a counseling theories course.

A study was conducted to determine if behavior contracting promotes learning of behavior strategies beyond what is learned in health instruction. The ability of college students to remember and apply behavioral strategies to a personal health situation was the focus of the study. (DF)

Describes a self-paced mastery learning process applied to an introductory sociology course at Lambton College (Sarnia, Ontario) in an attempt to correct traditional instructional and grading "malpractices." Describes course goals and organization, behavioral objectives, grading contracts, teaching techniques, student evaluation and feedback, and…

The Eastern Washington University Department of Education's merit pay system is described. The system closely resembles learning and grade contracts used by undergraduate students. This system rewards desired behaviors, individualizes rewards, and makes merit pay available to all who achieve designated goals. (MLW)

The development of faculty individual activity/performance agreements, a systematic set of procedures through which the goals or objectives of an institution are expressed as specific behaviors of an individual teacher, are discussed. These types of agreements also have been called growth plans or performance contracts. University objectives and…

A teacher's use of appealing physical education activities to develop other educational skills and to encourage behavior change in learning impaired children is described. The teacher makes up a behavior plan with each child in the homeroom; positive behavior earns breaks, free play, and the right to use gym equipment and to participate in…

The program of faculty development by growth contracting at Gordon College, Massachusetts, is described and evaluated, and a faculty development manual is presented. Under the growth contracting program, each participating faculty member writes a faculty profile that contains an assessment of strengths and weaknesses, a statement of current…

This book examines lifelong learning in the Information Age and the role of higher education (HE) in providing the educational services needed by lifelong learners. The following are among the topics discussed in the book's eight chapters: (1) changes in HE (repercussions of globalization in the educational sector; competition in higher learning;…